Open Enrollment Tip #5: Doctors, and Drugs, and Facilities, oh my!

So far we've made sure you can logon to WAHealthPlanFinder.org, made sure your personal and income information is up to date, and checked to see if you are required to find a new plan. We are making our way down the yellow brick road, and it is now time to face the lions and tigers and bears!

Well, ok, doctors and drugs and facilities may not be that scary, but they can sure be frustrating!

There are NO large network PPO plans being offered on the individual market in Washington in 2018. This means the only out-of-network care that you can get is when there is an emergency.

In 2018 it will be very important to try and keep all of your doctors and facilities (hospitals, clinics and other places you get care) in one network. Sometimes that can be hard to do, so it's important to think ahead.

Tip #5: Make a prioritized list of your doctors.

Who are the doctors that your family sees?
Are there any providers that are non-negotiable?
What hospitals do your doctors have privileges at?
If you had an emergency what hospital would you prefer to go to?

Tip #5a: Make a list of your prescription drugs.

What drugs are you taking? Are they short or long term usage?
Are they brand name or generic?
Are you taking any expensive specialty medications?

Now that you have your lists, what can you do with them?

Use these lists during open enrollment to inform your choice of insurance plans
WAHealthPlanFinder now has a search function that allow you to input doctors, drugs and facilities
You can input up to 5 doctors/facilities and 5 prescriptions
When you shop for plans you will see green checkmarks and red x's to indicate which plans cover the selections that you input
You can filter your plan choices by selecting any or all of your selections

What should you do after you've narrowed down your choices?

Go to the insurance carrier website(s) and double check that your doctors are covered
Check the prescription drug covered to see if you must meet your deductible before the drug is covered.

Tip Reminders:

1. Logon to WAHealthPlanFinder.org and verify your user name and password

2. Verify your personal contact information is up to date on the My Profile tab

3. Start thinking about your household income now.

4. Check to see if you got a disco letter that means you must pick a new plan

5. Make a list of your current doctors, drugs, and preferred facilities

Bonus Points!